A bipolar electrosurgical handpiece is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,231,571 and D562,978, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference, an example of which is known commercially as the Trigger-Flex Bipolar System and is available from Elliquence LLC of Oceanside, N.Y. The handpiece comprises an elongated rigid tube within which is housed extendable electrosurgical electrodes, preferably of the bipolar type. By special construction of the distal end of the electrodes, such as by the use of memory metal, when the handle is squeezed the bipolar electrodes, whose spacing is fixed, are extended from their tube and bent in accordance with the presetting of the memory metal. Typically, such an electrosurgical handpiece is employed with a cannula for minimally invasive surgical (MIS) procedures.
There are certain procedures in which it is desired for the bipolar electrodes to follow a certain path allowing the electrodes to grasp certain tissue before electrosurgical currents are supplied. Examples are general pin-point coagulation in all delicate neurosurgical procedures, transphenoidal surgery, and in certain cases of devascularization of tumors and debulking of lesions/tumors.